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National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act: SAMHSA Report to FCC

This report highlights the history, effectiveness, and challenges of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. It also discusses the potential impact of implementing an N11 national suicide prevention number.

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National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act: SAMHSA Report to FCC

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  1. National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act:SAMHSA Report to FCC Richard McKeon, Phd Suicide Prevention Branch Chief Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration U.S. Department of Health and Human Services FCC 3.28.2019

  2. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline • In 2017 more than 47,000 Americans died by suicide (Murphy, Xu, Kochanek, Arias, 2018) and more than 1.4 million adults attempted suicide (SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2018). • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from 1999 to 2016 suicide has increased in 49 of the 50 states and in more than half of those states the increase is greater than 30 percent (Stone, Simon, Fowler, 2018).

  3. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline History National Suicide Prevention Lifeline History, Development, and Structure

  4. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline History • Congress first appropriated funding for the networking and certification of suicide prevention hotlines using a single toll free number in 2001. • Veterans Crisis Line 2007 • Lifeline Chat 2011

  5. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Structure • 163 crisis centers linked by a toll-free telephone number, 1-800-273-8255 (TALK), and available to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24/7. • The service routes calls from anywhere in the United States to the closest certified local crisis centers. • The system automatically routes callers to a backup center as needed. • Trained counselors assess callers for suicidal risk, provide crisis counseling, crisis intervention, engage emergency services when necessary, and offer referrals to mental health and/or substance use services.

  6. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Structure • In 2018, the Lifeline answered a total of 2,205,487 calls, with an average of 183,790 calls per month. • Also in 2018, 102,640 crisis chats were responded to, with an average of 8,553 chats per month.

  7. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline History

  8. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Effectiveness National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Effectiveness

  9. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Effectiveness • Seriously suicidal individuals call the Lifeline. • There were significant decreases in callers’ reports of intent to die, hopelessness, and psychological pain over the course of the call (Kalafat, Gould, Munfakh, & Kleinman, 2007; Gould, Kalafat, Munfakh & Kleinman, 2007).

  10. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Effectiveness • On 19.1 percent of imminent risk calls, the counselors sent emergency services (police, sheriff, EMS) with the collaboration of the callers, while on a quarter of the imminent risk calls, the counselors sent emergency services without the caller’s collaboration. • For the remaining 55 percent of calls involving imminent risk, the risk level was able to be reduced without the use of police or ambulance through collaborative interventions, such as reducing access to lethal means, involving a third party, collaborating on a safety plan, and agreeing to receive rapid follow-up from the crisis center.

  11. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Effectiveness • Follow up is important. • An evaluation of 550 callers followed by 41 crisis counselors from six crisis centers revealed that 79.6 percent of callers interviewed 6-12 weeks after their crisis call reported that the follow-up calls stopped them from killing themselves (53.8 percent a lot, 25.8 percent a little) (Gould, Lake, Galfalvy, Kleinman, Munfakh, Wright, & McKeon, R. (2018).

  12. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Challenges National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Challenges

  13. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Challenges • The greatest challenge to the effectiveness of the Lifeline is its capacity to respond rapidly to the steadily increasing call volume. • Call abandonment has the potential for a tragic outcome. • By providing a system of backup centers to local communities, the Lifeline has substantially improved crisis care in the United States. However, this system is challenged by both rising call volumes and uneven coverage in many states.

  14. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Challenges

  15. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Challenges

  16. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Challenges

  17. Potential Impact of N11 Potential Impact of N11

  18. Potential Impact of N11 • Based on SAMHSA’s experience with national and state crisis intervention efforts over the past 18 years, and informed by a meeting of experts and stakeholders in mental health, crisis intervention, emergency services and suicide prevention that SAMHSA convened November 29 to 30, 2018, our judgment is that an N11 national suicide prevention number has the potential to play a key role in improving national crisis intervention and suicide prevention efforts; if the launch of a new number is accompanied by efforts to develop a more coordinated crisis system with greater capacity and access to sophisticated data and technology systems, and an ongoing commitment to data driven quality improvement.

  19. Potential Impact of N11 • N11 number would be easier to remember than a 10 digit number, and that this would lead to more people who are in need of help being able to access it. • Availability of an N11 number for mental health and suicide prevention could be a transformative step forward in the improvement of fragmented crisis systems in America.

  20. 911, 211, & 611 Significance for Lifeline 911, 211, & 611 Significance for Lifeline

  21. 911, 211, and 611 Significance for Lifeline • 911: Viewed as the gold standard for crisis response even among mental health providers, while pervasive across America, does not exist in every county. • 211: Forty of the 163 Lifeline crisis centers are currently blended 211/crisis centers, the numbers 211 do not communicate a crisis or emergency service. • 611: Numerous participants at SAMHSA’s November 2018 expert stakeholder meeting proposed 611 as the potentially available N11 number designated for urgent or emergent crisis situations, to be utilized as an alternative to 911 by the general public and primary care offices or other health providers.

  22. Recommendations for Improving the Lifeline Recommendations for Improving the Lifeline

  23. Recommendations for Improving the Lifeline • The major challenge regarding Lifeline’s infrastructure and operations is the need to expand Lifeline’s community crisis center capacity, either by adding more crisis centers to the network or by resourcing existing crisis centers to expand their coverage areas. • If an N11 number is assigned by the FCC, a public education and awareness campaign to publicize the new number would be instrumental in encouraging the use of the new number. Implementation of such a campaign should be done in coordination with ramped up capacity to respond to these calls.

  24. Richard McKeon Richard.McKeon@samhsa.hhs.gov 240-276-1873

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